jemadar

American  

[jem-uh-dahr] / ˈdʒɛm əˌdɑr /

noun

1. any of various government officials.

2. the supervisor of a staff of servants.

3. an officer in a sepoy regiment, corresponding in rank to a lieutenant.

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jemadar British  

/ ˈdʒɛməˌdɑː /

noun

1. a native junior officer belonging to a locally raised regiment serving as mercenaries in India, esp with the British Army (until 1947)

2. an officer in the Indian police

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Etymology

Origin of jemadar

1755–65; < Urdu jamadar, variant of jamdar < Persian < Arabic jamʿ aggregation + Persian dār holding, leader of

Example Sentences

A few days before all this, I was standing about in the bazaar, when I met a jemadar.

From Strange Stories by Allen, Grant

A body of the sultan’s Belooch soldiers, under a jemadar, or officer, and a party of slaves armed with muskets, formed their escort.

From Great African Travellers From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley by Kingston, William Henry Giles

Moreover, the jemadar shared his tent with half a dozen other workmen, and one of his bedfellows had actually witnessed the occurrence.

From The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures by Selous, Frederick Courteney

This Mehrab Khan was jemadar of the Levy Sowars, and wore a sort of khaki uniform and a blue turban and kulla.

From The Sirdar's Oath A Tale of the North-West Frontier by Mitford, Bertram

"Whom have you got here, jemadar?" one of them asked, in Bengalee.

From On the Irrawaddy A Story of the First Burmese War by Overend, William Heysham